Global smartphone market shrank annually for first time in Q1: Strategy Analytics

SEOUL: Global shipments of smartphones shrank 3 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier in the market's first year-on-year contraction on record, researcher Strategy Analytics said on Thursday, reflecting growing strains on the industry.

Strategy Analytics said in a statement January-March shipments fell to 334.6 million devices from 345 million in the same period a year earlier, as major markets such as China matured and concerns about the global economy weighed on consumer sentiment.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd remained the world's top smartphone maker, but saw shipments fall by 4.5 per cent to 79 million, Strategy Analytics said. The firm's market share dipped slightly, to 23.6 per cent from 24 per cent a year earlier.

Separately, RCom initiated contempt proceedings in the apex court against the Department of Telecommunications, blaming it for delaying a spectrum sale that would have enabled dues to be paid to Ericsson and lenders.